Fashion and Dostana - Last resort for Priyanka?

One can't remember when was the last time a top heroine had such an extended streak of box office failures? For Priyanka Chopra, it has been a nightmarish journey in the months gone by as she has been a party to not one, not two but as many as 6 consecutive box office failures.

Of course, in some movies she had an important role to play, in some she didn't. Some were prestigious projects from which one had loads of expectations, from some, this wasn't the case. Some of the films were fresh out of oven while some appeared like yesterday's newspaper.

However, the fact still remains that Priyanka, who was once a cool contender for the top spot, has now been bypassed by the likes of Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and to an extent even Vidya Balan (who has been seen in three successive hits - Kismat Konnection, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa).

So, is all lost for Priyanka Chopra? Not really! If a flood of movies has been her bane, that is also a boon to an extent, courtesy two more of her films arriving in next few weeks. So let's take you through the journey of Priyanka Chopra ever since her poor run began with Salaam-E-Ishq early last year and how next few weeks would turn out to be quite decisive for her career.

Salaam-E-Ishq (January 2007)

Majority of movie goers would agree that in this Nikhil Advani directed film, the track featuring Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra was the weakest. Worse, if Salman Khan's accent was criticised the most, Priyanka's over the top act only came close. The film was one of the first setbacks of 2007 and was panned by majority of film lovers. It was the beginning of a bad phase, professionally at least, for Priyanka Chopra and the result is that the girl, who made a terrific beginning with Andaaz and Aitraaz, is currently looking for that one elusive hit.

Big Brother (April 2007)

There are some films that actors do as favors for old times sake. Big Brother was one of them. Playing Sunny Deol's saree-clad wife in the film, Priyanka was nowhere attached to the film's plot and wasn't even used as a prop. A hardcore action film like Big Brother wasn't quite the recipe of success for Priyanka who otherwise was sharing screen presence with Hrithik (Krissh) and Shah Rukh Khan (Don - The Chase Begins Again). However, Priyanka thought otherwise. Result? A forgettable affair.

Love Story 2050 (July 2008)

Priyanka would have all the reasons to believe though that Love Story 2050 would be an unforgettable affair. After all she was coming with her real life love Harman in a futuristic movie that had mega bucks riding on it. However, the film turned out to be the biggest disaster of her career. Just like Salaam-E-Ishq, her performance was panned yet again, especially for the way she enacted her character in the second half of the film.

God Tussi Great Ho (August 2008)

When Priyanka signed God Tussi Great Ho, she would have expected it to replicate the success of Mujhse Shaadi Karogi since it featured her with Salman once again. However, the film got delayed by more than a year and by the time it hit the screens, the subject had staled. Also, how many people remember the heroine in Jim Carrey starrer Bruce Almighty? Priyanka possibly didn't think on the same lines when she signed God Tussi Great Ho which had the same storyline!

Chamku (August 2008)

Favour 1 - Big Brother for 'bada bhai' Sunny. Favour 2 - Chamku for 'chota bhai' Bobby. The common factor? Sarees! Result? Yet another flop, a big one at that. This time around Bobby tasted the biggest box office disasters of his more-than-a-decade old career. For Priyanka Chopra, the film marked her fifth consecutive box office failure in a row. Thankfully, there wasn't much to notice about her performance in the film. After all, she was hardly there to be seen!

Drona (October 2008)

With Bobby getting the biggest disaster of his career in Chamku, it was the turn of Abhishek Bachchan to suffer the same fate at the box office. And this one was even more horrifying since Drona has lost dozens of crores and stands amongst the all time box office disappointments. Priyanka worked hard for the movie and the results showed as well. However, the badly made film didn't help her cause.

Fashion (October 2008)

This is the film from which Priyanka must be hoping that she sees a change in fortunes. The film features her as a central protagonist, is directed by Madhur Bhandarkar whose movies always speak for themselves, has the kind of subject which comes with enough ammunition to shock the nation and last but not the least has ample scope for her to demonstrate her talent and glamour. On the face value, not much can go wrong with this project. No wonder, for Priyanka, Fashion is turning out to be a decisive film.

Dostana (November 2008)

Moreover, she also has Dostana to look forward to. The film looks chic, music has been doing well too, while Priyanka has shed all her inhibitions in a big way to suit the Miami setting of Dostana. 'Ooohs' and 'Aahs' are pretty much expected from the audience once Priyanka appears on screen. The promos have indicated that Karan Johar has a success in hand. And if the film does succeed, it would be some redemption for Abhishek Bachchan too who would want to completely forget the Drona experience